1 killed, 3 hurt after car hits cyclists

Anne Arundel County fire officials say a woman is dead and three people are severely injured after a car crashed, then rolled into a family taking a break from a bicycle ride.

Battalion Chief Steve Thompson says the car hit a light pole at Russett Green West and Ridgemere Crossing in Laurel on Sunday morning, then rolled into benches where a couple was sitting with their children.

Thompson says the driver, a 60-year-old woman, was taken to Prince George's Hospital Center's trauma center where she died. He says a 45-year-old man was flown to the Shock Trauma in Baltimore and his 39-year-old wife was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Thompson says both have life-threatening injuries.

He says the couple's 4-year-old son was taken to Johns Hopkins Pediatrics with head injuries. A second child was not injured.

First, this is a horrible thing to have happened. My heart goes out to both families. Second, the headline needs to be rephrased. As it currently reads, it is very confusing. "Driver killed after collision with bystanders" would be more appropriate.

My house backs up to this road; the speeding and racing have to stop. Walking trails run all through this development - you would hope to be safe on them. This accident wasn't caused by racing but it was
only a matter of time before someone was plowed down. Can we please have some police presence or speed bumps?
My prayers are with the families whose lives
were forever changed today.

The article doesn't say whether another car was involved but if not, that means this 60 yrs. old woman just hit a pole by herself, which means she shouldn't be driving. All too often old people are reluctant to give up driving and this puts everybody at risk.

re: checkered1
Your post is completely out of line, irresponsible and offensive. You don't know the facts and to say the woman was an "old crone who was too senile or too stupid" is just absurd. Hopefully when you turn 60--you won't be referred to in that manner.

nht1, 60 years old is not even old enough for standard retirement. While 90 or 80 years old is a different story, a 60 year old is typically as capable to handle a motor vehicle as a 16 or 36 year old. We really don't know the details of this situation. For all we know she could have had a heart attack or a stroke. Or, I hate to say it, but she may have been on the phone: and just like with any 16 or 36 year old, that is unsafe at any speed. At this point, I only hope for the best for the families involved, but more information may come to light at a later time.

I don't think you are smart enough to drive the article clearly states the cyclist where not even on the road. Do you think they are fair game anywhere. While your waiting on the cyclists up know how the rest of feel while we wait for you to read something.

This is so sad. I live in that communty and that road at times resamble Indy 500, everybody is in a hurry to sit at the light on 198, never mind all the children coming out of the library and the folks coming out of wal mart.

I am so bleeping sick of cyclists. They take up the road, insisting to go on the road even when sidewalks are available. Screw you all. And screw lance armstrong.

Posted by: FiatBooks | August 8, 2010 8:38 PM | Report abuse

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Dear Fiatbooks,

This post indicates that you are a low-life with murderous impulses. In case you are unable to read, in most cases bicyclists
are not legally allowed to ride on sidewalks; they are required to ride on the the road. And there they are targets for murderous scum like you. May you roast in hell.

It is truly sad that a family outing must end in tragedy. I can only hope for the best and pray that the two injured parents and child recover.

However shocking/sad this is, it does not necessitate some of the low caliber, vile postings. I think I can safely say it is indicative of the extremely low intelligence levels. For the record nht1 and checkered1, individuals ages 16-25 are actually the worst drivers. You obviously don't know how to read or you would have read the multiple reports that bear that statement out. 60 is not old, and many know how to pass a driving test...unlike most people under 30. Age related problems associated with driving rarely show up until 80-90 year ranges, when yes, reflexes are slower, confusion etc. become more prevelant.

@FiatBooks, where did you learn how to drive? Oh wait, can I make the assumption that you don't have a driver's license. I mean after all, you obviously don't know the laws let alone the rules of the road. Why don't you stop flexing your miniscule intelligence while your ahead.

How about food for thought. Accidents happen, until I see a report that reckless driving was involved, alcohol, etc., I would prefer to withhold judgement. We do not yet know what caused this tragedy so why rub salt in an open wound with such maliciousness towards those at the center of this story?

When is the Post going to start filtering comments? At the very least, the Post should require readers to click a link to subject themselves to the parade of the vicious and illiterate. One never has to read past the second or third comment to find gratuitous cruelty, racism, antisemitism (look after anything written by Bill Kristol), partisan tribalism, and unfathomable stupidity.

A private citizen has just died in a tragic accident, and a sadistic, anonymous coward called checkered1 is using your website to insult the deceased without any factual basis. Yet this is only a relatively mild example of what pollutes the Post's website day after day.

Just last week after watching a string of vehicles including a test demo vehicle from Tisher Acura ran up the hill at 65 mph, I said to myself someone is going to die here. This woman was speeding and lost control around the bend. Simple as that. I am praying for the young family.

Probably another old crone who was too senile or too stupid to know the difference between the accelerator and brake.

Posted by: checkered1 | August 8, 2010 4:58 PM
________________________________________
checkered1 - How old are you -- 12???? A 62 year old is hardly a senile old crone. All of my peers are in excellent physical condition and work full time plus.

Agree that the headline is really poor. They weren't cyclists at the time they were hit. I ride a bike, but if I'm sitting in my office and a plane flies into my building, I doubt the headline will be that a plane crash kills cyclist.

Some people aggregate stories involving cycling injuries, this headline does a disservice. The family may have ridden bikes during that day, but according to the report they were hit while sitting on a bench.

60 is far from senile. The lady probably had a heart attack or passed out. It's a shame this family was harmed in this way. The fact that they were cyclists is really irrelevant to this story, since they were not on the road at the time. By the way, checkered1 always has something ignorant and/or racist to say, no matter what the story is about so he is best ignored.

More thoughts... 60 yr olds fly jets, and are generally better drivers that <30 yr drivers. However, all ages are guilty of not taking the responsibility of driving with sufficient focus.

My mother was killed by a 19yr old Redbull chugging Walmart stock clerk who thought he could stay up for 36 hours straight, but fell asleep at the wheel hitting my mom head-on (it was a cloudless day @ 1PM in Texas). Mr. Redbull also killed his girlfriend too; he lived and did no jail time. Hell waits for Mr. Redbull.

BMW engineers were totally floored when they learned Americans wanted multiple mega cup-holders for their 66 oz Big Gulps. Germans take driving way too seriously to be caught guzzling and stuffing their faces whilst racing down the autobahn. The Swiss dole out HUGE fines for even minor motor vehicle infractions, and means-test the fine; God help you if you and rich! In northern Europe, people take driving very seriously. It is all about cultural values.

In comparison, Americans believe it is their God-given right to talk, text, surf, read the paper, do their nails, shave, etc, etc. PDAs get evermore complicated, with a growing list of functions, even GPS and traffic. There devices are so complicated, there is no way you can operate your IPhone/Droid and drive.

Given the trends we are seeing in drivers exhibiting a total lack of focus required to operate their vehicles and a careless attitude, I predict America's roadways will become even more dangerous killing fields than we have seen. This is a plague worse than the drunk drivers of the 1970's.